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Sweet Sweat

Sometimes you gotta go to the gym and kick your own butt. Sometimes you go to the gym and literally have to grit your teeth to finish a work out. Some days are the best work out and you leave feeling purged of all that junk that hangs over us. Other days you can walk out feeling like you just did you work out duty and that’s it.

No more work out blues I say! No more!

Whenever I’m debating the gym because I’m: tired, irritated, grumpy, lazy, busy, etc, etc I always put on my gym clothes and give myself a few more minutes to think.

“If I go to the gym now I’ll be able to watch FRIENDS…mmm I love that show. Ok I’ll go.”

“If I go to the gym now I’ll feel better, get my endorphins pumping and get more energy.’

“If I go to the gym I won’t feel like a giant booger for sitting on the couch and I will have accomplished something today!”

There are very few times when I’ve gone to the gym and regretted it. Obviously if I’m getting sick or am so overwhelmed, sometimes it’s literally not worth it. Most times though, I need the work out. I need the time to myself, the routine following, the energy and happy-factor that I get. I need that gym glow.

So if you’re in a gym rut, you need something new to encourage you, or it’s just time for a challenge, here is a work out that can be done on the elliptical, the treadmill, or the bike. You are responsible for challenging yourself! Turn up the resistance, make the incline bigger, but do what you can for your fitness.

Warm up tracks:

Get Down on It (4:57) and I’m Free (3:47)

Pon de Replay (3:33) Start your work out with a mini interval set of resistance. Try and challenge yourself to go 30 seconds at a harder resistance or incline, and then 30 seconds back to a “flat road” level.

Spider Webs (4:29) Sprint track: 15s/30s/60s Make sure before each interval you turn up the resistance a bit more to make sure that you’re in control and safe! Sprint :45-:58, back to normal pace, sprint 1:24-1:55 and back to pace, last sprint hold on to your fast pace as long as you can from 2:36-3:44.

When I Get You Alone (3:37) This is a cadence track which just means you can set your machine to a resistance that is just above the flat road, a little bit more challenging. I think of it as having a head wind that I’m running into, or gravel under my tires. Focus on your pace the entire song, trying to keep a faster than comfortable pace. One that you would only want to maintain for a few minutes.

Hey Ya (4:11) Rolling Hills. Every 20 seconds try turning up your resistance until you’re really slogging through, working really hard to keep moving, then slowly take off resistance until you’re back on a flat road. Use momentum from your legs as you take more resistance off to build some speed. Then build it back up again one more time.

Walkin on the Moon (4:03) A hill climb the whole song! Really use every minute to build up a strong hill. Turn up your resistance every 30s and see how much you can push yourself to the top